Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens (26 of 1294)

Oliver Twist was Charles Dickens second novel, and one that I read in school.  Oliver Twist was an orphan, who leads a miserable life.  He escapes and travels to London where he meets the Artful Dodger, who is a leader of a gang of pickpockets.

It's been a long time since I've read this, but I did enjoy reading the book.  It's one of the books that I wouldn't mind reading again, as time permits.

My rating: 4 stars

A little darkness

I'm making progress on catching up on posting the reviews for the 1001 Books that I've read, while reading more books on the list so I feel like I'm falling further and further behind.  I always seem to read more in the winter months though, I guess that has something to do with the weather.

It's time for another break in the 1001 action, posting some reviews from other books I've read recently.  I noticed that I've recently read three books with the word "Darkness" in the title.  Kind of a strange coincidence in the mostly dark days of winter.

We'll start off with A Darkness More than Night by Michael Connelly.  I've already written about Michael Connelly, who is one of my favorite authors, but there were a couple of his books I never read, one of which was this one.

A Darkness More than Night features both Terry McCaleb, the retired FBI profiler, and Harry Bosch.  McCaleb, who previously appeared in Blood Work, is helping out the local sheriff on a murder investigation, which leads to Harry Bosch as the prime suspect.  While Bosch is currently testifying in a high profile trial of a movie producer.  There is even an appearance from Jack McEvoy from the Poet.

Part police work, part trial, and with appearances from characters you've gotten familiar with if you are a fan of Connelly.

My rating: 4 stars




Another one of my favorite authors is Dennis Lehane, and I recently finished Darkness Take My Hand.  I discovered Lehane last year, and thought I had read everything that he had written except The Given Day, but I found this book in a pile unread.  I really like both his standalone novels like Shutter Island and Mystic River, but really enjoyed his Patrick Kenzie/Angie Gennaro series.  In fact, after reading Moonlight Mile I didn't ever expect to read a new Kenzie/Gennaro book again.

So it was both a little disappointing that I somehow missed one in the series, but also exciting because I had a new one to read.  I wasn't disappointed in reading it either.  While it's true Lehane write mysteries, his writing style makes his books standout.  With a good supporting cast of characters, such as their psycho, but loyal friend Bubba, the book is filled with suspense.

There is quite a bit of violence in the book, and it probably could be described as gritty as times.  But out of all the Kenzie/Gennaro books in the series, I would probably rank this as my favorite one, and that is saying a lot.  If you haven't read Lehane yet I strongly recommend him.

My rating: 4 1/2 stars



Last I read the latest Lisa Unger novel, Darkness, My Old Friend.  Lisa Unger is another author who I've read all of her books, except for the early novels she put out as Lisa Miscione.  This book returns to The Hollows, which was featured in Fragile.  Former police chief Jones Cooper is back again, still trying to find his way after being forced from the job.  I don't know if this is a sequel, or the start of a series, but I'm a big fan of the Jones Cooper character.  A flawed character trying to cope after traumatic events, but ultimately wants to do what is right.

This book was probably more suspense than mystery, but it was filled with good characters, a good story, and a familiar small town setting from the Fragile.

My rating: 4 stars

The Nose by Nikolay Gogol (25 of 1294)

The Nose was a short story that can be found online here.  The Nose was originally written in Russian in 1836. The Nose was a three part story.  In part one a barber realizes the nose he finds in his sandwich belongs to one of his regular customers, and is caught throwing it off a bridge by a policeman.  Part 2 tells of his quest to find the nose, and Part 3 he wakes up with his nose re-attached and goes to show it off.

It's kind of an unusual story, but it was pretty good.  There were a couple of parts that made me laugh, and it was a short read, so I would recommend checking it out.

My rating: 3 1/2 stars

Animal Farm by George Orwell (24 of 1294)

Animal Farm was a book that I originally read in school, and is one of my favorite books of all-time.  I've read it a couple of times since, and if I had to rank it I would say that it would probably be in my top 5 books, but definitely in my top 10.

Animal Farm tells the story of how the animals of Manor Farm overthrow the humans and proclaim it Animal Farm.  They form their own form of government, Animalism, and their own set of 7 commandments:

1) Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2) Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3) No animal shall wear clothes.
4) No animal shall sleep in a bad.
5) No animal shall drink alcohol.
6) No animal shall kill any other animal.
7) All animals are equal.

With chants of "Four legs good, two legs bad" all is well now that those humans are out of the way in their perfect utopia.

That is of course until the pigs slowly start to take over, and the rules start to become -

"ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS."

The other animals slowly forget how it was before the animals took over, and the pigs slowly take more and more power, until they eventually walk on two legs, wear clothes, sleep in beds, drink alcohol, kill other animals, and are just a little bit more equal than the others.

So the rules change for the benefit of the pigs, such as No animal shall drink alcohol to excess


While it could apply to power in general, Animal Farm was written to reflect the rise of the Soviet Union.  This is a good comparison between the characters in the book, and their Soviet representatives.

Of course, the story holds up well on it's own, and you don't have to look for the deeper meaning.  It's definitely a classic though, and well worth reading if you haven't.

My rating: 5 stars

Reading Olympics

My daughter is in sixth grade, and has joined the Reading Olympics team again this year.  There is a list of books published, and the goal is for the students to read as many books on the list as possible, and at the end of the year there is a competition where they answer questions about the books that they've read as a team.  She has been doing it for a couple of years now, and I've always felt a little lost at the competition having not read any of the books.  This year I thought I'd make an effort to read as many of the books that I could before the competition, and I've really enjoyed many of the books.  I thought I'd share some brief thoughts on the books that I've read.



Holes by Louis Sachar has been my favorite book that I've read from the list, at least so far.  The story tells about a young boy, Stanley Yelnats,  who is serving a sentence at Camp Green Lake for a crime he didn't commit.  His punishment has him digging holes in the hot sun.

An interesting cast of camp mates - Zero, Armpit, X-Ray, Magnet, and Caveman, along with an evil warden, a search for a treasure based on a local legend, and it makes for a fascinating book.

This was one of the books that I just couldn't put down, it was well written, filled with good characters, mystery, humor, and drama.  I would say that this was not only a great book for kids, but a great book for adults as well.  I was pleasantly surprised by this one, and I'd be surprised if any of the other books on the list will live up to Holes.

My rating: 5 stars




Hero by Mike Lupica was a fantasy novel about a young boy where special powers run in his family.  I wasn't too impressed with this book, but it was a decent story.  I could have lived without reading this one though.

My rating: 2 stars




Travel Team by Mike Lupica was the second book on the list by Lupica, and I read this and Hero back to back.  Out of two I enjoyed this one much better.  The basic premise is that seventh grader Danny Walker doesn't make the travel team because of his height, but puts together a Bad News Bears type team to compete with the travel team.  I'll admit that the book was predictable, but I did enjoy reading this one.

My rating: 3 stars




Closed for the Season by Mary Downing Hahn was a mystery story, where two 13 year old friends set out to solve a mystery that took place in the home of one of the boys, Logan, before he moved in.  It was an enjoyable book, and tied things together nicely.

My rating: 3 1/2 stars



The Staircase by Ann Rinaldi - Lizzy Enders gets dropped off at a school run by nuns, despite not being Catholic.  Abandoned by her father right after he mother's death.  Honestly I almost put this book down after the first couple of chapters because I just couldn't get into it, but I decided to stick with it and was pleasantly surprised by the book in the end.  It turned out to be a nice story though, and I ended up enjoying it.

My rating: 3 stars



Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time by Lisa Yee - Stanford flunks sixth grade English class, and is forced to attend summer school, cancel his summer basketball camp, tutored by Millicent Man (the world's biggest nerd), and his spot on the 7th grade A team is in jeopardy.

This was a fun book to read, with humor, touching moments, and good characters.  It even featured Stanford's book report of Holes, which I thought was cool.

My rating: 4 stars

I've read several more of the Reading Olympic books, and still have several to go, but that was the first batch.  I'll try and post some more thoughts shortly on the other books that I've read.

On the Road by Jack Kerouac (23 of 1294)

On the Road was always one of those books that I was meaning to read, but never got around to.  Not only did On the Road make the 1001 Books to Read Before you Die list, but it made the Guardian 1000 list, and the list of 100 best novels from both Modern Library and Time magazine.

So the big question is did it live up to the hype?  The main characters in the novel are the narrator, Sal Paradise and his friend Dean Moriarty and contains five parts.  Not surprisingly, the bulk of the novel is about road trips, from the east coast to the west coast, to Mexico, and back to New York.

The experiences and adventures from the journey and the carefree attitude of the time made for a fun read.  The go with the flow, free spirit attitude in the book doesn't really fit in today's modern world, but gives a glimpse into the beat generation.  On the Road was definitely a fun journey for me.

Apparently, On the Road inspired a Katy Perry song - Firework -



My rating: 4 1/2 stars

The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes by Anonymous (22 of 1294)

Lazarillo de Tormes was originally published in 1554, and was published anonymously due to the criticism of the Catholic church.  I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but I didn't have high hopes going in to reading the book.  The book tells the story of Lazarillo, a poor boy in Spain, and his adventures with several of his masters as he progressed through life from serving a bland man, to a priest, to a squire, friar, pardoner, chaplain, and finally a constable.  I ended up enjoying the book quite a bit, and found it to be a short, funny, and enjoyable book.

My rating: 4 stars